We had a heavy frost on yesterday morning so it was a bit of a late start. Which is ok from the labor standpoint. Everyone is working so hard…especially Mr. FixIt Jr. I know he is a chip off the old block because his dad is a really hard worker and has been all his life. His body is just pretty beaten up and his balance is off since the strokes. He just can’t get on a roof anymore. But that didn’t keep him from working hard in every other way from the ground.
You can see clear through the house!
Mr. FixIt and I took the trailer yesterday morning to pick up the shingle hoist from the rental place. It’s like an extension ladder with a motor and cable system. There’s a flat tray that you lay the shingles on and it works on a pulley system to lift it up to roof level. It’s really cool! We needed to get the wood repairs finished before that could start.
Mr. FixIt Jr. threw down the pieces that needed replaced and his dad and I used them for templates to cut out new wood. They got the long support strut out that needed replaced and the 2×4 we bought was about two feet short. I ran to our little town hardware store to buy an 8’ board and they soon had a piece spliced on the end and it fit in the spot seamlessly.
Pinto beans and cornbread. I crumble my cornbread into the bottom of the bowl, add a couple scoops of piping hot beans, top with a generous heaping spoonful of diced onions and a big squirt of spicy brown mustard. I add a dash of finely ground chipotle pepper for a little kick. This is stick to your ribs, Appalachian comfort food right here. Love in a bowl!
The former Mrs. FixIt sent over a pot of pinto beans and corn bread so I didn’t have to cook. She is so thoughtful that way. I went in to heat up some supper for us while they finished replacing the damaged wood. We took a break and sat in the warm sun for a little bit. Our daughter-in-law came after she got off work to help.
As they were getting started hoisting the shingles up, we pulled the roll of tarpaper out to start precutting the strips to staple on the wood surface. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a miscalculation and we needed two more rolls of tarpaper. I elected to run to town real quick to the big box hardware store and got back as fast as I could. In the time I was gone, they got all the shingles up to the roof and used up the one roll of paper.
Our daughter-in-law and I rolled the paper out on our back sidewalk, measuring the length by chalk lines on the cement. We cut the rest of the strips, rolled them up individually, and she carried them up the ladder to the roof. We kept busy refilling the staple hammer with staples and sending it up the ladder. And right at dark, all the tarpaper was in place and stapled down.
We gathered all the tools and covered them with a drop cloth. We got the shingle hoist taken apart and put it in the trailer to return today. Then we sat and visited for just a little bit before we sent the kids home with the all familiar farewell…
“Watch for deer!”
That’s West Virginian for…I love you!
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“Do all things without grumbling or disputing,”
Philippians 2:14 ESV
a “well-oiled team” ! wish there had been a shingle hoist the last time I did any shingling!
Gonna try the beans & cornbread jumble bowl. B&C are a perfect match-up of two incomplete proteins–their two sets of amino acids match up like a jigsaw puzzle to create a Complete Protein. Both from the Americas where they have been a traditional go-together meal for millenia.
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